Service Interaction in an Unstable Economy

Interactions with current and potential customers play a large role in determining the strength and sustainability of any business. Companies that engage in quality internal communication, create an efficient and pleasant working environment, where valued employees can easily be retained. Companies can better survive crisis situations if they maintain clear and strong communication with their employees, customers, and the media. NCA research can be used by professionals in all areas to help improve their offices, businesses and customer relations.

Related Articles in Communication Currents

Unhappy with a Business? Complain!

Risky Jobs: Communication and Occupational Safety

Ethics of Customer Service Work

How Employees Fight Back Against Workplace Bullying

Humor as Serious Business

Select Programming from the 2008 Annual Convention

Theorizing Nonprofit Organizational Communication

Organizational communication research has not recognized nonprofit organizations as a unique opportunity to advance organizational communication theories and concepts (Lewis, 2005). This is of significant concern for scholars conducting nonprofit research because theories of organizational communication are almost exclusively informed by corporate and government models (Eisenberg & Eschenfelder, in press). The papers on this panel offer a variety of theoretical understandings of nonprofit organizational communication that are supported by the panelists' own empirical research.

Taking the Next Step: How People Cope With Workplace Incivility

Understanding why people choose to participate in organizations despite incivility is a helpful beginning to understanding how people manage that incivility. Understanding coping responses is particularly important because such responses are not the end of interactions but potentially transform (or fail to transform) the workplace. This panel explores coping with hostile acts and hostile environments in organizations in an effort to understand how people successfully deal with incivility in order to remain at the organization.

Improving the Workplace Adjustment of Employees with Disabilities: An Interactive Training Program Module for Rehabilitation Counselors

A consortium of colleagues across disciplines is conducting five research projects designed to improve the quality of employment services, opportunities, and outcomes for people with disabilities. Phase One of Project Two trained rehabilitation counselors how to effectively promote the socialization of their clients with disabilities to the workplace. This proposed, unconventional panel will demonstrate one module from this project, focusing on using information seeking strategies more effectively. Participation and feedback will be strongly encouraged.

Experts on Organizational/Business Comm

Vincent Waldron, Ph.D., Professor, Arizona State University
vincew@asu.edu

Kristen Lucas, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
klucas3@unl.edu

Jennifer H. Waldeck, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Chapman University
waldeck@chapman.edu

Research in NCA Journals

“Financial Feeling: An Investigation of Emotion and Communication in the Workplace.” Miller, K, I. and Koesten, J. Journal of Applied Communication Research: Vol 36, Num 1, Feb 2008

“Compassionate Communication in the Workplace: Exploring Processes of Noticing, Connecting, and Responding.” Miller, K, I. Journal of Applied Communication: Vol 35. Num 3, Aug 2007

“Organizational Surveys: A System for Employee Voice.” Edmondson, V, C. Journal of Applied Communication Research: Vol 34, Num 4, Nov 2006